Criteria

The creation of this digital archive has spurred the formation of a dedicated working group that convenes regularly to deliberate on platform and content development decisions. This approach ensures accountability and transparency in the choices made.

Throughout my PhD thesis, I actively sought and received extensive feedback and ideas regarding the digital archive from GLAM professionals and community members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent.

As ongoing work progresses on the site, the criteria outlined below will be continually revised and updated. They are the result of both Aboriginal and Italian feedback and requirements. 

 

Criteria employed on this digital archive:

  • categories have been chosen to facilitate access (by historical period, information on the collector and contemporary productions). Everyone agreed that the records should be made available according to contemporary search criteria, not just following existing institutional taxonomies
  • whenever possible, language group has been added to items
  • place names have been added in both titles and descriptions, whenever possible. In most cases, they have been chosen following the explorer's description (conscious it can be incorrect) or authoritative websites and thesaurus (such as the AUSLANG thesaurus and local land councils)
  • in the 'people' section, we have tried to add as much information as possible 
  • Indigenous Intellectual Cultural Property (ICIP) rights are inserted in the right section
  • not all the images are included. For example, photos of Ancestral Remains or other racist content (such as anthropometric photographs) are only described. Clear details of how to trace the original image can assist people in retrieving directly with the institution
  • attention is given to the terminology utilised across the site (for example, recognising terms that have been utilised in the colonial context and swapping them with terms that reflect more contemporary experiences and perspectives). The original text is always available once clicking on the content.